The present invention relates generally to a panel and, more particularly, to a panel for decorating a face of a conventional flat veneer plywood door to provide the door with a traditional rail-and-stile appearance.
One conventional method of making interior residential doors is to assemble a frame of horizontal rails and vertical stiles around one or more wooden panels. Although this method provides an attractive door having an appearance somewhat similar to that shown in FIG. 1, this type of door tends to sag, shift and/or warp after a period of many years and is costly to make because of the labor required to assemble it. A less costly and more geometrically stable method of making an interior door is to sandwich a frame between thin sheets of plywood commonly referred to as luan having veneer on their respective exterior surfaces. Although the plywood prevents the frame from sagging, the flat veneer surfaces of these doors are less attractive than traditional rail-and-stile doors to many homeowners. To overcome this deficiency, an alternate construction has been developed in which sheets of material such as pressed wood molded to have a rail-and-stile appearance are attached to a frame instead of the plywood. These molded doors have an appealing appearance and are less susceptible to sagging and shifting than rail-and-stile doors. However, replacing existing flat veneer plywood doors with new molded doors is prohibitively expensive for many homeowners.
Among the several objects and features of the present invention may be noted the provision of a panel and method which may be used to retrofit an existing door to have a rail-and-stile appearance; the provision of such a panel and method which may be used by unskilled labor; the provision of such a panel and method which provide an attractive door; and the provision of such a panel and method which produce geometrically stabile doors.
Briefly, apparatus of this invention is a panel for decorating a face of a conventional flat veneer plywood door to provide the door with a traditional rail-and-stile appearance. The panel has a decorative front surface, a back surface opposite the front surface adapted for attachment to the face of the door and a substantially uniform thickness separating the front and back surfaces. The front surface has a raised perimeter portion surrounding a central portion. In addition, the perimeter portion is spaced farther from the face of the door than the central portion when the back surface is attached to the face of the door. Further, the back surface has an outer edge which contacts the face of the door when the back surface is attached to the face of the door.
In another aspect, the invention includes a molded plastic panel for decorating a face of a conventional flat veneer plywood door. The panel has a front surface and a back surface opposite the front surface. The front surface includes a central portion having an appearance of a separate panel and a perimeter portion surrounding the central portion having an appearance of a raised molding. The back surface includes an adhesive substance for applying the panel to the face of the conventional flat veneer plywood door.
In yet another aspect, the present invention includes a method of applying a panel to a face of a conventional flat veneer plywood door to provide the door with a traditional rail-and-stile appearance. The method comprises the steps of selecting a desired position on the face of the door at which to apply the panel, and bonding the panel to the position on the face of the door with an adhesive. The method further includes the step of applying a bead of caulk around the panel to cover a parting line between the panel and the door.
Other objects and features of the present invention will be in part apparent and in part pointed out hereinafter.